Don't miss Les Mis (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Don't miss Les Mis

9:10am Monday 23rd August 2010 in Leisure By Lucie Richards

THE 25th anniversary touring production of Les Misérables rolls into Southampton’s Mayflower next week – and it’s sure to be a memorable occasion.

Millions of people have seen the perennially popular musical, which first opened at London’s Barbican Theatre on October 8, 1985, and has been seen in 42 countries, in 21 languages.

Since December last year, the anniversary production has been travelling the country and it will return to the Barbican Theatre for a limited run this October after a special concert at the O2 arena.

The show is playing at The Mayflower from August 24 to September 11.

Earl Carpenter, who plays Javert (pictured) told The Gazette: “I have had a long relationship with Les Misérables. In 1996, it was the first West End show I was in and I have been involved in quite a few Les Misérables concerts. I have produced five concerts, including with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.”

He added that moving from the London production, with which he had grown up, to the 25th anniversary show was a difficult transition.

“This production is very different to the London one that has been going for 25 years – it was necessary to take it into a new chapter,” he said.

“The music is, of course, the same but the design is different. They have taken a lot of Victor Hugo paintings as the basis for a new design template, so it’s more of a picture book production.”

Carpenter, who trained at Jellicoe Theatre, part of the Bournemouth and Poole College of Further Education, has come to love touring.

“I’m not someone who likes the same routine, and I’ve had the opportunity to travel places I wouldn’t normally go and experience different audiences.

“I’m looking forward to Southampton. I was born in Southampton and live on the Isle of Wight, and I was brought up around Bourne-mouth, so it’s home. And I get on very well with everyone at The Mayflower.”

As a man with plenty of other strings to his bow, Carpenter – who has starred in several London shows including as Beast and Gaston in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast – has also produced and directed musicals and founded theatre247.tv, a company that films theatrical events from opening nights to red carpets for the internet. He is currently organising a Three Phantoms Concert, involving three former Phantoms of the Opera.

Tickets for the Southampton show are priced from £19 and can be booked by calling 02380 711811, or going online to mayflower.org.uk.